Coffee health benefits: Four reasons to drink… | Chatelaine.com

1. It can lower your risk of diabetesYour morning coffee may not only get you up and going, but studies reveal that it can protect against type 2 diabetes. Coffee consumption increases plasma levels of sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) a protein that regulates the activity of testosterone and estrogen, both of which have been thought to play a role in the development of type 2 diabetes.

Logo for the World Diabetes Day (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Bottom line: One study found that women who drank four cups of coffee each day had significantly higher levels of SHBG and were 56 percent less likely to develop diabetes than non-drinkers. It is also thought that coffee may improve the body’s tolerance to glucose by increasing metabolism or improving sensitivity to insulin. While four cups may have you bouncing off the walls, it’s certainly a good argument for keeping up your caffeine fix.

Starbucks Seattle Latte (Photo credit: morebyless)

2. Drink coffee to burn more fatHaving a caffeinated drink pre-workout, providing it’s not too late in the day, can increase your endurance and boost your fat-burning potential according to various studies. Caffeine is thought to delay the onset of muscle fatigue by helping your body use its own fat reserves as energy, sparing your stored up energy (or glycogen). The longer your stored energy lasts, the longer you can push it at the gym.

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Bottom line: A recent study has found caffeine has the same effect on the body’s cells as muscle contractions caused through exercise. And though they don’t recommend anyone opt for coffee over fitness, they are currently looking at more ways caffeine positively influences DNA. As an added bonus, caffeine has been shown to reduce pain during exercise which may help you get through that last set of lunges.

Phicen Yoga High Lunge (Photo credit: edwick)

3. It can lower your risk of deathIt’s true. Researchers from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) tracked the health and coffee consumption of more than 400,000 adults over the age of 50 for nearly 14 years and found that java drinkers were less likely to die during the study than their anti-coffee counterparts.

Death…. (Photo credit: Mr. Greenjeans)

Bottom line: Men and women who averaged four or five cups of coffee per day had the lowest risk of death. Keep in mind however, if coffee is the cause of your anxiousness, headaches and digestive disturbances, it’s best to opt for an alternative such as green tea.

Your Coffee Cups (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

4. Coffee protects against cancerLong-term coffee consumption may reduce your risk of endometrial cancer by as much as 25 percent.Another study showed that drinking coffee reduces the risk of estrogen-receptor negative breast cancer (a tumour not driven by estrogen). Participants used Scandinavian boiled coffee, which chemically resembles French press and Turkish/Greek coffee (so unfortunately, the local coffee shop coffee may not render the same benefits).

A French press coffeemaker (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Bottom line: Be sure you’re opting for boiled coffee versus filtered because it has up to 80 times as many coffee-specific fatty acids. These fatty acids have previously been shown in animal experiments to inhibit the growth of cancer. Opt for an organic, fair-trade coffee and be sure to brew it with non-chlorinated filters. While some of the benefits apply to the decaffeinated version as well, the extensive chemical process used to remove the caffeine makes it a less ‘natural’ option.

For the love of coffee (Photo credit: Lotzman Katzman)

Lastly, you should keep your coffee consumption to morning hours only as too much caffeine can disrupt your sleep.

morning coffee (Photo credit: YoungToymaker)

How many cups of coffee do you drink a day? I drink about 10 cups of coffee a day, every day! Purely for medicinal reasons of course ROFL

Life is like a cup of coffee (Photo credit: Eye – the world through my I)